9 Easy-to-Make Halloween Costumes for Teachers

Witches, vampires, ghosts, and zombies have all been done. Doctors, nurses, and other professionals can be equally as trite. Make a splash this year and get your students excited for Halloween.

With Halloween right around the corner, it’s time to start planning the ultimate teacher friendly Halloween costume. Of course, finding a school-appropriate costume on a budget can be more of a trick than a treat. Luckily, we’ve got some quick, easy, and cheap ideas for your costume. Whether you’re a guy or gal, you’ll look the part without paying the cost.

Costume Ideas for Teachers in Elementary Schools

Thing One & Thing Two: Indulge your inner Dr. Seuss by partnering up with another teacher. Print out Thing One and Thing Two circles onto transfer paper and iron them onto long sleeve red shirts. Pair them with red pants, gloves, and slippers. Top it all off by acquiring an inexpensive blue wig to pull the whole costume together.

Jellyfish: Wearing all light blue, purple, or white, you can easily put this costume together inexpensively. Use a lightly colored wide brimmed hat or umbrella (which you can also spray paint to the desired color), and hot glue strips of plastic wrap, bubble wrap, or lightly colored ribbon around all sides.

Max from Where the Wild Things Are: Wearing white sweats or white pajamas and a crown, you can easily be the King of the Wild Things. A perfect monster story for younger kids on Halloween, Maurice Sendek’s popular children’s book is bound to be a hit in your classroom.

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Costume Ideas for Teachers in Middle Schools

Hogwarts Student: Just because the movie franchise has finished, doesn't mean that you can't still rock out the Harry, Hermione, or Draco. Pick your favorite character from the Wizarding World, and you can easily create a costume with an old graduation robe, a Hogwarts patch, and a wand shaped stick. Choose your Hogwarts House, and wear a coordinating tie or scarf.

Pippi Longstocking: Put on a blue dress and some mismatched socks. Braid your hair in pigtails, and you’re good to go! If you want to really make the costume come together, use an old wire coat hanger and a headband that matches your hair color to make your braids stick out. Unravel the coat hanger and hot glue the center to the head band. Braid around the wire, so that your hair becomes bendable. Then read an excerpt from Pippi for the class to enjoy.

Carmen Sandiego: This costume is especially great for social studies, in which you can incorporate your costume into a Where in the World geography lesson or Where in Time history lesson. For Carmen, a red spring trench jacket and a red floppy hat are all you'll need for the mystery woman traipsing the world.

Costume Ideas for Teachers in High Schools

Mime: You can use this costume to teach a lesson in communication: non-verbal communication! A black and white vertical striped shirt, black pants, a black beret, and white gloves are the only wardrobe items you'll need. For additional effect, paint your face with a mask of white. You'll look great, and the students will have a lot of fun with a unique lesson in which they have to focus on your non-verbal cues.

Katniss Everdeen: This popular character offers an easy costume to throw together; all you need are some green cargo pants, a dark tee shirt, brown hiking boots, a jacket and a bow. You can make your own bow with a strong tree branch, thick string, and black or brown duct tape. Plan a lesson incorporating The Hunger Games for added fun in your classroom.

Rosie the Riveter: This makes an excellent historical costume. Wearing jeans, a dark blue button down shirt (sleeves rolled up), and a red bandana, you can become the poster girl for the women's economic movement of the 40's.

Of course, most of these costume ideas are interchangeable between the grades, depending on your school, and of course, your students. Maybe your high schoolers would get a kick out of Max or Pippi. Your grade schoolers may learn a thing or two from Carmen Sandiego. Regardless, have fun this Halloween!

What are YOUR costume plans this year? Are you going to use one of these ideas or do you already have a game plan. TeachHUB wants to know!

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